Jamison Gibson-Park: Leinster will face ‘on fire’ Toulouse buoyed by past wins

Leinster scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park says his side’s recent record against Toulouse provides confidence as the two most decorated teams in the history of the Champions Cup prepare to meet in the 2024 final.

Toulouse have five tournament wins to Leinster’s four, but the Irish province head to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday with three successive wins over their French rivals.

“I suppose we’re confident because we’ve had some good results against Toulouse the last few seasons,” Ireland international Gibson-Park said, pointing to the three games played since 2019.

“But they have changed a lot since our last clash. They are the best team in the competition and have beaten everyone fairly comfortably this season.

“They manage to break down opposition defences with their impressive attacking game and players of international class, like Jack Willis and Pita Ahki.

“They’re on fire at the moment and so I think they will arrive in London super-confident. It should be a very good match.”

Leinster have not been crowned kings of Europe since 2018, falling just short in the final against Saracens (2019) and La Rochelle (2022 and 2023).

Toulouse’s last success came in London three years ago with a Twickenham triumph over La Rochelle.

Gibson-Park said: “We’ve done our best in the last two finals, but this season we’ve put everything into trying to move forward with the arrival of some new coaches, who have changed a lot of things.

“We hope that our defensive system will make the difference in the final by disrupting a Toulouse team who like to run with the ball a lot.

“The goal is to do better this year, but Toulouse are in great form, so we’re expecting a very difficult match.”

Gibson-Park’s battle with Antoine Dupont, the